Rhonda & Curly Present: The Anonymous Ball
by girlinbloom
Summary: The gang is just about to start college! Arnold, depressed from his recent break-up with Lila, attends an eccentric disguise party at the Lloyd Mansion to celebrate the kick-off of their freshman year. He has no idea what to expect, but meets a blonde "stranger" who takes him out of his funk. Question is, who is she? My first fanfic ever! A/H Rated T for alcohol and language .
1. The Invitation

**Rhonda & Curly Present: An Evening of Anonymous Adventure**

Author's Note:

Okay! So this is my first complete venture into fanfic writing, ever. Just as a general note, I'm not much of a writer; this was just for fun, and I'm only posting it because maybe someone else might like reading it as much as I liked writing it. :) It was loosely inspired by _Eyes Wide Shut _(the movie is referenced in the story) because I thought the idea of people in disguise was pretty cool. So, here it is, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these delightful characters, all of them were created by the awesome Craig Bartlett and are owned by Nickelodeon. Making no money off this; it's for entertainment only.

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Chapter One: The Invitation

_Miss Rhonda Wellington Lloyd_

_Mister Thaddeus Gammelthorpe_  
_Cordially invite you to the first-annual Anonymous Ball_  
_taking place Saturday September 8th._

_This enchanting evening takes place in the Ballroom of the Lloyd Manor._

_Attire will be provided._

_Festivities begin at promptly 10pm_  
_Please arrive no later than 9:30pm for mandatory pre-evening preparations._

_Guest rooms provided on a first-come first-serve basis for those who wish to stay overnight._

_Please R.S.V.P. A.S.A.P._

_Miss Lloyd and Mister Gammelthorpe look forward to your presence at this legendary event._

Arnold put down the fancy wedding-like invitation on his desk.

"Crazy shit, huh?" Gerald asked with a grin. "Rumor is they're gonna make it an annual thing if it's big," he said laying on Arnold's bed, tossing a basketball in the air and catching it repeatedly.

"I don't know... Sounds weird. I mean, this is _Curly _we're talking about here," Arnold said from his desk, studying the invitation.

"And it's _Rhonda_, who always throws good parties. _And _it's her first college party, so you know it's gonna be good."

"So you going then?" he asked, looking at Gerald.

"Hell yeah! Me and Phoebs already RSVP'd."

"Oh... I don't know Gerald. I don't think this is what I need right now, you know?" Arnold said sadly.

Gerald caught his basketball and sat up.

"Man this isn't about Lila, is it? You've _got _to let go of this torch you've been carrying for so long!"

"I don't get it, I thought things were going great," Arnold said with a confused expression.

"I don't know man, I thought you were boring as hell when you were with her," Gerald shrugged. He caught Arnold's offended glare. "Heh heh... no offense."

Arnold sighed.

"Arnold, think about it... Word on the grape vine is that this is kind of like... a swinger's shindig," he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"A _what?" _Arnold choked.

"Well, not like an _Eyes Wide Shut _kinda thing where people are randomly having sex everywhere, but it's anonymous-you can't tell who anyone is. So if anything _does _happen..." he said, his voice beginning to trail off, "it's totally guilt-free and never spoken of again! No. Strings. Attached."

Arnold looked a bit uncomfortable with this... but couldn't help feeling a bit curious.

"And Phoebe's _okay _with this?" Arnold asked curiously.

"_We've _got it figured out," Gerald answered, walking toward the couch, "We have a code word to find each other just in case the disguises are way too good to figure out who's who."

"And that is...?"

"Fidelio," Gerald answered confidently.

Arnold rolled his eyes.

"I thought you said this _wasn't_ like that movie," he said flatly.

"Well," Gerald began, scratching his head, "It's kinda where we got the idea from."

Arnold turned back to the invitation with a pen in hand. He looked at the "yes" and "no" options, deciding which one he should circle.

"So... you in man?" Gerald asked, nudging his arm.

Arnold thought about it.

Maybe this _was _the sort of thing he needed to get his mind off of the break-up with Lila...

Arnold circled _yes. _


	2. The Transformation

**A/N:**So the chapters ahead aren't 100% realism, but they aren't absolutely impossible, either. Use your imaginations, friends! ;) Also, to avoid confusion Joey is the young African American kid whose teeth Torvald knocked out when Arnold was tutoring him :P Also, Robert is the blonde kid with the glasses who's always kind of in the background but isn't a main character. I got his name off of Hey Arnold wiki. Plus, I decided Iggy's full name would be Ignatius, Peapod kid's first name for this story is Peter, and Brainy's first name in this story is Brian.

Disclaimer: Still do not own any of these characters; ALL of them are the creations of Craig Bartlett and owned by Nickelodeon. Story written for entertainment only. :)

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Chapter 2: The Transformation

The next Saturday night at around 9pm, Arnold and Gerald, dressed in their usual casual clothes, approached the gate of Rhonda's mansion. The large luxurious gate guarded the long, winding driveway leading toward the front doors. A tall, masked figure with slicked back hair stood at the gate in full dress tails.

"Curly?" Arnold asked, bewildered.

The figure ignored him. He pulled a walkie-talkie from his breast pocket and mumbled something into it, then opened the gate to let Arnold and Gerald inside.

The two exchanged a confused look.

They reluctantly made their way up the long driveway.

"What was _that _about?" Arnold asked.

"I don't know man," Gerald said, rolling his eyes. "You said it yourself-this is _Curly _we're dealing with."

Arnold shrugged.

They finally made it up to the large front doors.

Just as Gerald was about the ring the doorbell, the front doors opened slowly, revealing a tall, slender young woman with long black hair, a gold mask, and an elegant, glittering black floor-length dress hugging all of her curves.

Arnold and Gerald stared in surprise.

"Rhonda?" Gerald asked.

"Gentlemen, if you please..." she answered, motioning her arm toward the study to their left.

"Uh... _okay..." _Arnold mumbled, walking inside the house and toward the study.

He opened the door and saw all of his friends... his _male _friends, anyway.

Gerald stepped in after Arnold, and the door was closed behind them suddenly, causing Gerald to flinch in surprise.

"Soo... what the hell is going on?" He asked the group.

"Hey Arnold, Hey Gerald," guys said randomly.

"_Nothing _right now," Sid began, confused. "Just... _waiting."_

"No one's told us anything yet!" Harold said loudly.

"_Nothing? _So... you guys are just... sitting here?" Arnold asked.

"Yeah," Sid answered flatly, "And it's a total sausage-fest in here, what gives?"

"Yeah!" Stinky answered. "I'm gettin' bored."

"-And _hungry," _Harold added.

"I don't know you guys," Eugene spouted, "don't you think it's kind of... exciting?"

"Like prison rape exciting, orr..." Gerald began sarcastically.

_*Ahem*_

The room fell silent as they turned to see where the noise came from.

The same masked woman from the front door appeared in the doorway of the study.

"At this time, the management will be requesting... Brian, Robert, and Harold. Right this way, gentlemen," the gorgeous girl motioned outside of the study.

"Uh..." Brainy breathed, "Okay."

Harold looked around reluctantly and followed.

The third boy, with his curly blonde hair and glasses, followed last.

The girl closed the door behind them.

The room remained silent.

"So... are we being murdered?" Gerald asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh come on guys, it's _theatrical!" _Eugene exclaimed, now brimming with excitement.

"Theatrically fuckin' _scary," _Sid answered.

Arnold wasn't sure what to make of it. The guys in the room bickered and debated back and forth for another ten minutes until...

_*Ahem*_

The woman stood at the doorway again, and the room once more fell silent.

"At this time, the management will be requesting... Eugene, Gerald, and Peter. Right this way, gentlemen," She motioned out of the study.

Peapod Kid shrugged and left the room, followed by Eugene, who seemed giddy.

"This is it man," Gerald said to Arnold, "If you never see me again... you can have my old school Pop Daddy video collection."

And with that, Gerald left.

The door closed behind him and the room once again fell silent.

"Okay, now I'm creeped out," Sid said darkly.

"Aww Sid, it's just Rhonda and Curly," Stinky said. "They ain't gonna do nothin' to us."

Arnold looked around the room and counted the people in the room and the people who had gone...

"They're going in alphabetical order," Arnold stated.

The guys in the room turned to look at him. He had been so quiet up to that point that they almost forgot he was there.

"By last name," he continued.

"So... we _are _getting murdered, then." Iggy said flatly, unable to see any connection.

"Yeah, what's your point, Arnold?" Sid asked.

"Well... if they keep going like this, next should be Sid... Park... and Lorenzo, in about..." Arnold looked at the clock on the wall... "eight minutes."

They stared at him.

"Willikers... this is about the weirdest dang party I _ever _been to," Stinky said quietly.

Surely enough, exactly eight minutes later, the young woman in the black dress asked for Sid, Park, and Lorenzo.

"I wonder what they're doing...?" Rex Smythe-Higgins asked pensively.

Arnold wasn't sure what to expect after his name was called... He wondered why they were leaving in threes, and why there was a ten minute wait time in-between. Why couldn't they just walk into a big room with people and music and food like _normal _parties?

He thought about that... It _was _Curly, who was into theatre, special effects, and all things weird. And there was Rhonda, who was extravagant and large-scale and who did nothing half-assed. Actually, now that they were actually dating, this _would _be the type of thing they would cook up... especially with Rhonda's parents away in Aruba for the week.

The door opened.

_*Ahem*_

"At this time, the management requests Stinky, Ignatius, and Joseph. This way, gentlemen."

Iggy cringed at the use of his full name and followed Joey and a nervous looking Stinky out of the study. The door closed behind them.

Rex and Arnold exchanged awkward glances.

"'_S' _surname?" Rex asked.

"Yup," Arnold answered simply.

They sat in silence for what seemed like the longest ten minutes. Arnold looked at the clock- 9:50pm. He couldn't believe he had been at the party for almost an hour and did nothing but sit in a room.

_*Ahem*_

The young woman opened the door.

"Last but most certainly not least, Rex and Arnold. Right this way, please," she said motioning out.

Arnold and Rex obeyed silently, and she closed the door to the now empty room.

"If you could just follow me," she said, walking up the elegant staircase.

Rex and Arnold reached the top of the stairs, and the young woman pointed to two separate rooms.

"Rex, you will be changing in this room, and Arnold, you will be changing in this room," she said, pointing to each door respectively. "Please be quick, we are on a schedule."

They reluctantly obeyed.

_Man, what am I __**doing? **_Arnold thought.

He stepped into the beautifully decorated guest room. He noticed one of Rhonda's maids standing in the room. She was wearing a neon pink mask. Arnold ignored her awkwardly and looked at the clothes laid out on the bed...

"Uh... there's no shirt here."

"Precisely," the maid answered.

Arnold looked at her, feeling extremely awkward.

"So... do I just wear mine? Or..."

"You are to wear only the attire the management has provided," she answered, as if her response were rehearsed.

"_Okayy..._" Arnold breathed.

He put on the white dress pants and sneakers that were laid out. He eyed the maid from the corner of his eye to see if she was watching (though how could he tell? she was wearing a mask) before reluctantly taking his shirt off.

_I am never doing this again, _he thought as he laid his shirt on the bed and began to adorn a brightly colored mask on his face that covered only his eyes. He also noticed there were small paint jars on the bed...

"Are you done changing, sir?" Asked the masked maid.

"Uh... I guess," Arnold said, folding his arms over his bare chest uncomfortably, feeling absolutely ridiculous. "There's nothing else here."

The maid walked toward him and grabbed a neon green jar of paint. Arnold's eyes widened. She opened the jar and inserted the tip of her glove-covered index finger into it. She moved toward him.

_"Whoa, _what the hell?" he asked, backing away.

The maid sighed.

"Look, I've been doing this for an hour, can't you just stay still and let me finish? You're my last guy!" she said exasperatedly, abandoning her rehearsed generic responses.

"What are you doing?" Arnold asked, still backing away.

"Just a couple of designs. I'm not going to paint _all _of you. It's just a little and it washes off really easily. _Kay?" _she finished in frustration.

Arnold looked at the annoyed young maid and sighed. If he came _this _far, he might as well get the full experience.

"Fine," he answered.

She painted a couple of horizontal lines around his biceps and triceps of both arms. Arnold gave in, realizing she wasn't going to decorate him _too _much. But it only made him wonder what the hell he was getting himself into... She opened a jar of neon orange paint and added some dots in-between the lines, giving off the look of a bright tribal tattoo.

"Finished! Okay, now I just have to blindfold you."

_"What?" _he asked.

She scoffed.

"Really, are you even surprised right now? Come on, after this, you're at the party, and then you can do whatever you want." she answered simply.

"Whatever," Arnold answered. He realized he needed to fully surrender to the night's... festivities. He figured from now on, whatever happened, he was just going to accept it.

She pulled a black blindfold from her skirt pocket and tied it around his masked eyes.

She held his hand in front of him, leading him out of the room...


	3. The Celebration

**A/N:**Yay! Time to finally discover what in the heck is going on! :) For the party section, I usually find myself reading it with some party music playing faintly in the background, it just makes it... I dunno... feel cooler. Lol. And if it helps to visualize what the next chapter looks like, Google Image search "black light party". Oh! And just remember, since it's the gang's first college party, all of them are at least 18 years old.

Final disclaimer: These awesome characters are property of Nickelodeon, created by super cool Craig Bartlett! Story written for entertainment only!

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Chapter 3: The Celebration

Arnold stepped blindly into a space with loud music. He was able to smell a faint scent of fog, incense, and liquor, but couldn't see a thing.

The blindfold came off him.

"Thanks," he turned to look at the maid, but she was gone just as quickly as the blindfold came off.

He turned back in front of him to look at the scene that he'd been waiting an hour for...

Right away, he understood the significance of the clothes, the masks, and the paint.

The entire enormous ball room was lit using only black-lights. There were dotted spot lights distributing moving dots of color throughout the room, giving off the look of a colorful mass of stars. The star-like colored lights moved to the beat of the trance music that played in the background.

There was a bar lit with blue neon lights, and masked maids and butlers were serving food and drinks.

All of the guests Rhonda and Curly invited were... unrecognizable. He didn't know it was possible, but he couldn't tell who was who. Many of the girls wore brightly colored wigs, masks, and neon lipstick. They wore either brightly colored tank-tops or bras, and shorts. Many of them looked very similar to each other. He couldn't even tell which girls were in attendance, and if it weren't for being locked in a room with all the guys, he wouldn't be able to recognize them, either. He only noticed they were all wearing white pants, different colored masks, and different types of subtle body painted tattoos. He noticed some of them wore headbands or hats to try to conceal their identities better.

"Yo, Arnold," called someone behind him.

He turned and saw a dark skinned boy in a green fedora and orange tribal-like tattoos on his arms.

"Uh... Yeah?" Arnold answered, unsure of who it was.

"It's Gerald!" he exclaimed.

"Gerald? How...?" Arnold began. He had no idea how all of his hair was able to fit under that fedora without it flying off.

"They took extra time getting me ready. I _told _them to lay off the hair..." he began, trailing off as if he didn't want to continue the story.

Arnold couldn't help but laugh.

"Find Phoebe yet?" Arnold asked loudly over the music.

Gerald took another sip of his rum and coke that had a decorative light-up ice cube.

"Yeah I found her, she's at the food table... I just hope I don't lose her again..."

They began walking toward the large food table against the opposite wall of the entrance, which, like the rest of the party, had different black light decorations. They approached a group of three girls.

"Fidelio?" Gerald asked a short girl in a neon pink wig, neon purple bra, denim shorts, and white-and-pink striped knee-high socks.

"Um... pardon me?" she asked, confused.

"Oh, sorry." Gerald answered awkwardly.

Arnold laughed.

"I'm gonna go get a drink," Arnold said, as Gerald looked around the area.

"Uh... yeah man, I'll be here," Gerald answered.

The two did their traditional handshake as Arnold walked across the room to the neon bar. He felt himself finally getting into the spirit of the weird night... he had to admit, it _was _pretty cool.

He noticed a tall, slender girl waiting at the bar for her drink.

Arnold stood next to her and stole a glance at her outfit.

She had long, wavy blonde hair that cascaded down her back. He noticed it wasn't a wig like some of the other girls, but someone had used the neon paint to add some bright yellow streaks in her hair. She wore bright blue denim shorts, neon purple knee-high socks, a neon pink bra, and small painted stripes at random parts of her body. Arnold would have admired her more, but any longer than five seconds felt creepy. Instead, he spoke.

"Hey," he said casually.

She turned to look at who was speaking and jumped slightly.

"Uh... hey," she answered back nervously.

"Crazy party, huh?" Arnold asked.

"Uh... yeah, no kidding," she answered.

He admired her neon-orange lipstick. He couldn't tell with her bright pink mask over her eyes who she was, but he figured that was for the best.

The bartender handed her a cranberry & vodka with a purple light-up ice cube.

"For you, sir?" He asked Arnold.

"Rum and coke," he answered.

The girl grabbed her drink and made to walk away, but something made her move a little slower than she normally would have...

Arnold noticed her leaving and wanted to say something...

"So... did you know anything about the party before you got here?" he asked her.

She turned back to him and stirred her drink reluctantly with a thin black straw.

"Not really," she said, looking at her drink, "I came with my friend. She knew it was gonna be some disguise thing and tried to come up with some weird plan to find her boyfriend. You know, so they don't accidentally cheat on each other or something," she said with a shrug.

Arnold laughed and thought immediately of Gerald.

"That's funny, my friend did the same thing. I'm guessing a lot of people are doing that tonight."

"Yeah, shows Rhonda and Curly," she said with a shallow laugh.

Arnold laughed with her.

This was the first time in weeks that he felt like really smiling. His break up with Lila had put him in such negative spirits, even though he should've been excited to be starting college that week. But he couldn't take his mind off of the fact that he wasn't ready to move on. But something about this girl he met was very refreshing...

"Your drink, sir," the bartender said, handing Arnold his rum and coke with a white light-up ice cube blinking inside.

"So, uh..." the girl began unsurely, "where you headed?"

"Back to the food table to find my..." Arnold began, looking at the table, seeing guys and girls who all looked so much alike that he realized he lost Gerald. (_What color was his hat, again?) _

The girl laughed at Arnold's sudden end to his sentence.

"Let me guess... lost him?" she asked knowingly.

He chuckled in response. "Uh... yeah, guess so..."

"It's happened to me at least three times already. Guess Prince-uh.. _Rhonda_ and Curly are smarter than we thought," she finished nervously.

"Guess so," Arnold said, searching, not noticing the girl stumbling over her words.

"Come on," she said, grabbing his arm with her free hand, "Let's go find him."

Arnold smiled.

"Sure," he answered.

They went back to the food table but neither could see their respective friends.

"Uh... I don't think my friend is here," the girl said, surveying the area.

"Me either..." he answered, also searching.

It was difficult to make out who was who in the fog, lights, and neon decorations.

"She probably found her boyfriend and went off," she said.

"Actually that would explain where my friend is, too," Arnold said, abandoning his search.

"Wanna just... hang out here on our own...?" she asked tentatively.

Arnold looked at her as he thought about it. Should he follow Gerald's advice and use this night to try to get over Lila...? Part of him felt uncomfortable about it... He watched the beautiful girl in front of him. She stirred her drink nervously... Was she _hitting _on him...? She looked nervous... He admitted to himself that he kind of liked that.

"Yeah, I'd like that," he answered with a smile.

The two continued to drink and eat a couple of finger foods, joke about the party and watched people try to flirt with other people, and laughed when one person visibly lost another. They were having a great time people watching and finished their drinks quickly.

"Want another one?" she asked.

"What if you lose me?" he asked with a smile.

She laughed.

"You kind of have a very... distinctly shaped head," she answered obviously.

He laughed.

"Fair enough," he answered.

"I'll be right back," she said grabbing his empty glass. He watched her leave with a smile on his face. For the first time in a while, he felt... _happy._

"Yo," a dark-skinned boy said right next to him, folding his fist out with one hand and holding a short girl's hand with the other.

Arnold held out his hand- they did their handshake.

_Gerald_, he thought.

"_Soo, _who is _THAT?" _Gerald asked, looking at the blonde girl at the bar.

"That's the funny thing, Gerald. I don't know," Arnold answered with a smile.

"_That's _my boy! She is _fine! _Great body on her," he said, teasing Arnold.

Phoebe, who wore a neon pink wig, a neon purple bra, denim shorts and sneakers with no knee high socks (though decorated with a few pink stripes on her thighs) smacked Gerald's arm at the comment.

"Not as fine as you, babe!" he said squeezing her playfully.

"I thought so," she answered with a laugh.

She turned to look at the girl Gerald was referring to. Her hand covered her mouth with a gasp, though the music was too loud for anyone to hear or notice. The blonde girl began to walk back toward them with a drink in each hand. As she got closer to the group, she hesitated slightly.

"You ok, Pheebs?" Gerald asked.

"Yeah! I just, uh... want a drink," she said.

"Want me to get you one?" He asked.

"Sure! But... I'll join you. Don't want to get lost again," she added playfully.

Gerald laughed.

"You're right about that. Catch you later Arnold," he said, walking toward the bar with Phoebe.

Phoebe and the blonde girl exchanged looks as they passed each other.

She gave Arnold his drink.

"I, uh... see you found your friend?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

"Yeah, I guess their plan worked out after all," he said.

"What _was _their plan, anyway?"

They continued to drink as he explained the _Eyes Wide Shut _movie reference and how they had been mixed up despite their code word. The girl laughed at the story as she watched a very highly decorated girl on the dance floor with another highly decorated guy. They had very detailed painted tattoos all over their bodies.

"Probably Rhonda and Curly," Arnold commented.

"Can you _believe _they referred to themselves as 'the _management'_?" she asked with a laugh.

He laughed too.

"At this point, I'll believe anything." he answered.

He noticed there were a lot more people on the dance floor. There was a mix of trance, hip hop, dub step, pop, and all music that tempted bodies to dance.

Arnold noticed the girl bopping her head and fingers to the music.

"Like this song?" he asked her.

"No I _hate _it! But it's so damn catchy!" she answered loudly.

Arnold laughed.

"Come on," he said putting his drink on the table, "Let's dance."

She stiffened.

"We can't just leave our drinks here," she said defensively.

"Okay," Arnold answered.

He grabbed his rum and coke, removed the straw, and chugged it. The girl watched in astonishment.

_"Whoooa! _Big tough guy!" she said, impressed with his bravado.

"Well?" he asked with a smile, wiping his mouth.

"Alright," she said, accepting his challenge, "I'm game."

She followed suit, removing her straw and downing her drink. She patted her mouth dry with the a small nearby napkin and took a deep breath.

"Shall we?" he asked, holding a hand out.

"Let's cut a rug," she said with a smile.

_Hm... I feel like I've heard that somewhere, _Arnold thought briefly, quickly dismissing the thought as he led the girl onto the dance floor.

At first, the two danced jokingly, doing exaggerated spins and tango moves and old 90s dance moves, laughing hysterically.

As their drinks that they downed started to catch up with them, they danced closer and closer...

As one trance/dub step song came on, almost everyone at the party was dancing. They didn't notice the crowd.

They moved to the music in each others' arms in perfect unison. Gerald was right- she had a _great_ body.

An unfamiliar feeling came over Arnold... He had forgotten what it was like to be attracted to anyone other than Lila. He usually wouldn't dance with any girl at a party like this, but the alcohol gave him a boost of confidence. His body felt loose, and he could tell she felt the same. He admitted that the anonymity of it all helped _big _time.

She turned to face him and danced in perfect rhythm with the music. Her hair cascaded around her. He couldn't tell if her eyes were open or closed through her mask...

He leaned into her... They were extremely close. The music began to fade. He decided to give into temptation. He leaned into her lips...

"Whoo, I need a break!" she said nervously as the song ended at the exact time Arnold leaned into her.

"Uh, yeah! I was... just about to tell you the same thing! You wanna maybe... get another drink?" He said, feeling slightly stung that she rejected him.

"Good plan!" She answered.

He began to walk through the now-crowded dance floor.

The girl grabbed his hand and held it as they made their way to the bar.

He smiled. Maybe she _didn't _reject the kiss? After all, he couldn't tell if her eyes were even open, maybe she didn't see him...

"I'm gonna go sit on that couch," she said when they got to the bar.

"Sure," he answered, and she walked away.

Another shorter girl was at the bar waiting for a drink. She looked at him and looked away nervously. She repeated this a few more times unbeknownst to Arnold. The bartender gave her a Smirnoff Ice.

"Uh... hi," she said.

"Hey," Arnold answered back briefly. "Can I get two shots of Honey Jack and two Caronas?" Arnold asked the bartender. He nodded.

"Are you... here alone?" she asked.

"No, I'm hanging out with a friend of mine," he said, unconsciously looking over at the blonde girl on a couch across the room.

The short, pink-wigged girl glanced in her direction to see who he was referring to.

"Oh... okay," she answered simply.

It took Arnold a minute, but he recognized the girl as the one Gerald mistook for Phoebe earlier... They _are _wearing very similar outfits. Though, if he recalled correctly, Phoebe wasn't wearing knee-high socks, and this girl was.

"Are you having fun?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah, more than I thought I would, actually," he said with a smile, watching the bartender pour two shots.

"Oh. Well... just wanted to know if you were enjoying yourself. I'm sorry to bother you," she said quickly, taking her drink.

"You're not bother-" he began, looking in her direction. But she had already gone. He shrugged and held the two beers by the necks with his left hand, and the two shots in the palm of his right. He made his way very carefully back to the couch where his anonymous blonde date sat. He noticed her talking to another guy. He walked away as Arnold arrived.

"Who was that?" Arnold asked, trying to sound casual.

"Who knows? He was trying to pick me up so I told him to get lost," she said with a shrug and a crooked smile.

He smiled back.

"That's funny, I think that kinda just happened to me," he said, carefully giving her a shot and a beer.

He sat next to her on the couch, their bodies turned toward each other.

"What are we toasting to?" she asked as they held their shot glasses out in front of them.

Arnold thought about all the night's events...

"To a great night," he said with a smile.

She smiled brightly.

"To a great night," she repeated simply.

They clinked their shot glasses and knocked their shots back, chasing the strong whiskey with a sip of their beer.

As the night continued, their shots and drinks added to their buzz. They joked even more, laughed drunkenly, and continued to people-watch. By now, some people had retreated to couches on the walls (almost no corner of the giant room was left uncovered by either couches, a bar, or a food table) to rest, talk, or make out.

"Damn, _scandalous," _the girl commented, pointing to a boy on a couch who had a girl _and _a boy on each arm, all making out with each other in random order.

Arnold was surprised to see that, but he had to admit, the liquor and the anonymous identities made people's bravery stronger.

"Whoa, _they _look ready to sneak to one of the _'management's' _guest rooms," she said with her eyebrows raised, pointing to one couple making out hungrily across the room.

Arnold watched silently.

"Yeah," he said, a hint of sadness in his voice.

She detected it.

"What's wrong, Arn-... Ar-Are you bothered by it or something?" she asked, running her fingers through her hair nervously.

"Not really... it just kind of reminds me of something."

"What?" she asked.

"Well... some_one._"

"Oh..." she said, folding her arms. "Girlfriend?" she asked flatly.

"No," he answered quickly. He didn't want her to think he was cheating or anything. "More like... _ex-_girlfriend."

"Ah, gotcha..." she said knowingly. "Do you... miss her?"

Arnold looked at her.

"Well... up until tonight, I did," he answered honestly.

She unfolded her arms and looked at him.

"What do you mean?" she asked nervously.

He turned closer and spoke into her ear so she could hear him better over the music... and of course, to be closer...

"Well, for the past few weeks I've been feeling really depressed. But hanging out tonight with you reminded me that... I need to move on. I'm having an awesome time with you... I feel like myself again."

She got goosebumps from his warm breath on her neck.

His heart was beating very fast... he could only guess that hers was, too.

"I'm having a great time, too," she said, speaking closely into his ear.

He got the same goosebumps.

He leaned in even closer to her.

"I never got to tell you this through all the partying, but I just want to let you know that I think you're really cool and really beautiful," he said.

The alcohol forced this sudden piece of honesty out of him, and he didn't regret it.

She blushed a deep pink, though the dark hid it well. She leaned into him, body brushing up against his.

"I think you're really great, too... And, um... I really like you," she said leaning into his neck as she spoke this confession.

He smiled.

"I really like you too," he breathed into her ear.

They were nestled into each other during this private exchange.

Arnold moved his lips very slowly away from her ear and softly grazed them against her cheek.

She didn't move away...

He softly kissed her cheek. He felt her sigh when he did this. His lips continued to graze her cheek, until he felt her lips on his. As soon as he felt the contact, he kissed her lips softly. She sighed deeply through her nose and kissed him softly in return.

He felt his heart drop. Despite Lila only breaking up with him weeks ago, he realized he hadn't had this feeling in a long, _long_ time. Much longer than just a few weeks.

He kissed her a bit more deeply, moving his hand to cup her face. Her body automatically leaned toward his in response, without her fully controlling it. She wrapped her hands around his neck and returned his deep kiss.

He moved his hand down her back and she let out a soft moan that could he could barely detect through the music, but hearing the soft noise cued him to kiss her deeper.

She inhaled sharply and broke the kiss.

They were both breathing heavily.

"_Whoa," _she sighed, panting.

"Uh... yeah... I'm sorry," he said, also panting, dizzy from the liquor.

"No, no, it's-" she began.

"No, really," he said, overlapping her, "I don't normally-"

"_I know,_" she said, placing a finger on his lips as he cut her off, "I know."

He wanted at that point more than anything to take his mask off and to take hers off, too. At first being anonymous was a nice defense, but now he wanted to know who this girl who so effortlessly stole his heart was. But he could tell that she had wanted to maintain her anonymous identity, and he respected that.

She watched him closely and gave into her drunken desires, and continued to kiss him. Arnold, in his state, didn't object. He felt her hair and her back with one hand and her thighs with the other, and she felt his arms, chest, and back. They continued this way for quite some time until it started becoming increasingly difficult for them to control themselves... They were scantily clad, after all, and with each kiss their desires grew exponentially.

She pushed him away from her, breaking another intense kiss.

"_Criminy," _she sighed softly. She panted and wiped her hair from her face, leaning back into the couch.

"I'm sorry," Arnold said, unsure of what to say. He had only heard her deep sighs and heavy breathing and took it as a sign that she was overwhelmed.

"No! Don't apolo-" she said, sighing. She couldn't speak clearly.

"Okay..." he answered, resisting the urge to apologize again.

She took one last sip of her now-empty beer.

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes longer.

"Wanna... dance off this sexual tension?" he asked jokingly.

The girl laughed loudly. She appreciated his sense of humor.

"Sounds like a plan," she answered.

The two continued to dance the night away. Sometimes they danced silly, sometimes they danced energetically, sometimes they danced seductively. Their lips met a few times along the way. Eventually, the clock struck 1am, and some people began to disperse.

"Hey man," Gerald called to Arnold on the dance floor. Arnold hadn't noticed Phoebe and Gerald dancing nearby.

"Phoebe's tired, we're gonna find rooms crash in," Gerald said. Arnold could tell they were pretty tipsy.

Arnold nodded.

"Sure," he said, holding out his hand. They did their handshake and Gerald led Phoebe out of the ballroom. Phoebe turned around a gave the blonde girl with Arnold a look...

"Actually, I'm kinda tired too," she said. "Wanna head to a room? I think my friend is already at the room we were gonna crash at..."

Arnold frowned slightly. He wanted to keep hanging out with her, but it was late, and they were both drunk. They needed to get back to their respective friends and rooms.

"Okay," he said finally.

They walked out of the ballroom hand in hand.

In the normal house lights outside of the ballroom, Arnold and the girl got their first clear look at each other. He still couldn't really tell who she was, but noticed her cheeks were flushed and some of her body paint smudged.

"Well... I had a great night... But I should probably find my friend," she said quietly.

"Yeah... me too."

She slowly let go of his hand and began to walk away.

"Wait," he said, grabbing her hand. He took off his mask.

"I just wanted to let you know that this was one of the best nights I ever had," he said.

At this point, he wanted her to know who he was. And he hoped she would follow his lead.

"Me too, Arnold. But... I have to go," she answered quietly.

He frowned.

"Aren't you going to take off your mask...?" he asked sadly.

"I..." she began, motioning toward her mask, but neglecting the action just as quickly as she began it. "I... can't."

"Why not?" he asked, looking at her longingly.

"I just can't, okay?" she said sadly.

He was painfully reminded of a similar moment he had in the fourth grade with a girl he thought was Cecile... In a way, this girl actually sort of _looked _like Cecile, too... As if the irony wasn't enough for him to handle...

"Okay," he said, experiencing de ja vu. "Will I see you around?"

"Yeah... I'll be around." she said with a smile.

He smiled back.

"There you are, Arnold!" called a girl from a distance.

They turned and spotted Phoebe approaching them. She had removed her mask and wig and was holding them in her hand.

"Gerald just wanted me to let you know you guys are crashing in the upstairs guest room."

"Oh," he said, changing his train of thought. "Where are you crashing?" he asked, noticing she was drunk.

"Downstairs guest room," she said, swaying slightly, "Now, excuse me... I need to go... find Helga." she walked away from the two quickly.

"Which reminds me..." the girl began, "I should find my friend, too."

"Okay..." he said. "I... just wish I knew who you were..." he said, analyzing her.

"Maybe one day you will," she answered with a shrug and a smile.

"Well... we'll always have the 'first Annual Anonymous Ball'," he said, leaning into her.

He cupped his hands around her neck gently and gave her one last goodnight kiss.

She obliged and kissed him back, savoring the sweet goodnight.

She sighed and smiled.

"Goodnight, Arnold," she said quietly before walking away in the same direction Phoebe had.

Arnold watched her go for a bit longer before heading in the opposite direction.

_The next morning..._

Arnold woke up to a bright room, feeling a bit groggy and tired from the night before.

Gerald was awake and back in his normal clothes. Arnold noticed he had been awake long enough to shower, wash the body paint off, and restore his hair to its rightful state.

"Hey man," Gerald said.

Arnold hadn't given him any details when he got back to the room the night before, but they exchanged a very knowing look.

"Hey," Arnold answered simply.

He began to change into his casual clothes, which were left there from the night before.

Gerald walked downstairs toward the smell of breakfast.

Arnold followed. He went to the upstairs bathroom to wash his face and mouthwash. He turned the handle... locked.

"Occupado," called Sid from inside.

Arnold frowned and made his way downstairs... Hopefully the downstairs bathroom was open. He had no idea how many of Rhonda and Curly's guests stayed over from the night before.

He noticed that there was absolutely no evidence of a party ever taking place the night before. The entire house looked as if it had been untouched.

He turned the handle to the bathroom downstairs, which was unlocked.

He went in, washed his face, and mouthwashed, all the while replaying the events from the night before over and over in his head...

He couldn't stop thinking of his anonymous blonde. He liked her spunk, her charm, her blunt sense of humor, her independence, her free spirit, and the fact that he could just be himself around her... The fact that she was gorgeous and he was insanely attracted to her was just a bonus.

He wiped his face with a towel and sighed.

He wanted so badly to know who she was.

He opened the bathroom door in a daze and walked directly into someone.

"Sorry!" Arnold exclaimed. He noticed he walked directly into Helga Pataki.

"Whoa! Still drunk from the party, football head?" she joked casually, as she continued to walk toward the kitchen.

He chuckled slightly.

_I guess everyone got drunk last night, _he thought briefly.

Then he caught sight of something familiar...

The bright, blonde streaks flowing in Helga's long, wavy hair.

They looked exactly like...

Arnold's eyes widened as a flood of memories from the night before came rushing to him. He watched Helga continue to walk. She was wearing a tanktop and black capris... Arnold took note of the stray body paint markings on her arms and leg.

Identical.

_Oh my God, _he thought.

He connected the dots, and then _another_ flood of memories hit him...

_Cecile?!_

He smiled a wide, bright smile.

"Hey Helga, wait up!" he called after her.

_**THE END.**_  
;)

* * *

The end! My first ever story! I left a lot of it open to your imagination (as far as what the 18-year-old gang looked like physically) and of course the confrontation that happened after that night! Anyway, the idea of reviews make me nervous, haha, but are definitely welcomed :) Although the story was completed before I posted this, lol. Thanks for taking the time to read!


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